A forum to share experiences, comments and questions about the Kundalini process.

13 July 2011

No matter how our health and spirituality function, even when we are perfectly well, struggling with poverty makes life more difficult. But certainly in the east many who have spiritual awakenings are very poor, and live as sadhus moving among ashrams or living on the streets. This activation of energy is about the transformation of consciousness and the opening of the body into a very simple and natural relationship with nature and life. Rather than the external life, it is more about an inner process that has the potential to make someone more okay with how things are, more attuned to the flow of life as it is, more peaceful. It is the mind that struggles and rages with the inequities of life. This process is trying to pull one into a part of themselves that is quiet, open, compassionate and simply present without all the intense feelings generated by thought.

If there are severe physical difficulties it is usually due either to mental anxiety or fear of change, an underlying physical difficulty or limitation, an underlying psychological challenge (e.g. long term depression, anxiety disorder, eating disorder, PTSD), an unhealthy diet or the use of drugs. I have met many people from all levels of society with kundalini activations, and the energy itself can be confusing, shake your body up, take you into altered states, and cause heat and odd spontaneous movements at times. But it does not by itself cause pain and illness. It can aggravate an underlying condition, and it can cause adrenal exhaustion if there is too much energy intensity too often, and it can cause headaches. (you need to bring energy down, more into the heart or belly if there are headaches). In a few people who are very sensitive it is very draining and debilitating. If the energy is stuck in the lower chakras it can cause sexual preoccupation or stomach discomforts. It needs to move up and through the whole system.

If one has an income source or someone in their life to support them it is a great blessing when the need is to rest and be away from the intensity of the working world. Many people find they cannot sustain the kind of work environment they had been adapted to prior to awakening, and seek ways to simplify their lives. It is essential to find a lifestyle that is authentic for you. Although triggers that seem to cause awakening can be identified, no one can say exactly why some people activate this transformation and others never do, but it seems as if it was just meant to be in this lifetime. The intention of this process does not seem to be about destroying your life so much as opening your consciousness to feel itself as one with all things, relaxing into just being, and awakening to the unlimited potentiality and expression of consciousness. Your identity is challenged and those things you think you are (female, male,child, parent, worker, profesional, rich, poor, inadequate, smart, healthy, ill --everything) are seen to be temporary appearances while underneath it all is a quiet spirit and presence that is the true "I" and knows it is only temporarily playing this role. This awakening is not something the mind can decide or understand,and certainly not control when it happens, but it is something consciousness itself realizes as part of the whole experience of spiritual awakening. The kundalini is the life force trying to make realization possible. It doesn't care if you are rich or poor -- it wants you to become awake.

There is very little opportunity in the west to find understanding and support for this process. It is totally out of the mainstream direction and thinking of our culture which is built on the glorifying individual success and accomplishment. So people experiencing it can become very frightened and alone and this makes the struggle even more difficult. But what is needed is an internal meeting of the process, time to ground yourself walking in nature and being quiet inside, a simple diet with a protein source that helps you ground, an ability to listen deeply to your own inner guidance and to trust the process. None of these things cost money. You can also find companionship on the journey on the web, read the teachings of spiritual masters like Ramana Maharshi or modern teachers like Adyashanti, and if you are well enough you could do some service in the world that you feel called to. You can do a simple meditation of just sitting in presence. There is much access to resources today that did not exist even 15 years ago.

I know it sounds crazy to the mind but there is an old saying "What you resist, persists" Once we stop resisting our circumstances, and stop "arguing with reality" (as Adyashanti puts it) all that energy that goes into anger, disappointment and longing for something to be other than it is can be released. Then we can find a new deeper creative energy within us and begin to take small steps in the direction our heart is leading us, and positive changes can happen in our life. Sometimes our old patterns of how to make things happen just don't work anymore but we keep looking at life from an old position and can't see other alternatives. Awakening to your true nature, and relaxing into just being-ness, can offer a whole new perspective.

People enter this process with many issues -- not just limited resources or poverty. Some have disabled relatives they care for, or alcoholic partners, or cancer, or abusive situations that need to be addressed. I have known people whose homes were flooded or burned to the ground. Anything in our external life can be a hurdle that feels like the kundalini process is just too much to deal with, but it is actually an invitation out of that identification and into a realization of the part of us that is not suffering, that is awake and present in the now of living. From this place it is easier to see what needs to happen and not be overwhelmed by it and thus to make changes that serve our lives. It is not thought and mental activity that frees us-- it is spirit.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Hi Bonnie!I read the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle a yer ago and it transformed my life miraculously. I dont know if you have read the book but there is chapter that talks about the "inner body", that basically explains how you can feel the energy of the body to become more "anchored" in the now. I think i started first with my hands and for months all i could feel where my hands,feets and legs. There was a part of my body that was very difficult to feel, the torso. Anyway, i tried to feel it one day so i focused my attention in one spot in my back. The following day i noticed my back and neck was very tense. Also, i started experiencing shallow breathing and chest tension, something i never had in my life. This continued for like 4 months where i had all types of synthoms and pains. Then i realised that my body was kind of clearing some blockages i had (maybe old emotions?). The point is that 3 or 2 months ago i woke up very confused and i felt very wierd (i think i had a depersonalization or derealization or something like that). The strange thing is that it was like i lost a lot of weight. For weeks i felt very unnusual energy through my body and it was like the line that separates my body and the world disapeared. For example, when i went to bed, i coulnt tell the difference between the sheets and my body, like it was one thing. And there was one day when i looked my self at the mirror and i didnt recognised me.Now i think im healing, my body has boundaries again and im recovering my strenght. What is your opinion about this? Can you tell me if this is kundalini? When will it end? Is there anything i can do to make it better? This is a very important year for me because it is my first year at collage(im 18), so i want to get over this as quickly as i can.

Anonymous - The best thing to do (I went through a similar situation) is to not resist whatever is happening. I know this sound strange, but if you accept all of the weirdness things will align over time. Bonnies writings are awesome, the book "The End of You World" is great too. Also lookup a website www.kundalini-teacher.com Angelique is a great person who helps a lot of people with the process

About Me

For over 30 years I have mentored and consulted with people in the process of kundalini awakening or spiritual emergence. I wrote "Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process" in 1990 and recently published "The Kundalini Guide" and "The Awakening Guide" for people who need support and understanding as they move into spiritual awakening.

I was a founder of the Kundalini Research Network and currently I own Shanti River Center in Ashland, Oregon.